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Race Expo and Carbo Loading

Friday afternoon we loaded the boys up and did the 90 minute drive to Salt Lake City while the Ev napped in his car seat and Dax watched Toy Story! We arrived around 2 which was an hour before check-in time at our hotel so we went to the race expo first. The expo was at the Sheraton Hotel downtown and it was really well organized.

We walked right up to the packet pickup area with no lines. I got my packet and told the volunteer this was my first race so she kindly explained everything in detail. I was to pin my bib number to the front of my shirt. The bib had my chip timer right on it so I wouldn’t have to worry about anything else. She suggested getting to the race early, around 6:15, to use the porta potty, stretch and have a little time to relax before the race. I was still really nervous at this point so it was calming to hear how everything would work on the morning of the race.

We checked out all the booths at the expo and then headed to our hotel to check in. The boys LOVED the hotel room. I don’t exactly know what the appeal was, maybe it was the fact that we let them jump on the beds! We unloaded our stuff into the room and hung out for a while. When the boys had enough jumping on the beds we decided to go drive the race course. At 1.5 miles into the race the course goes UP HILL. It was a really steep incline and driving it was making me really nervous. The town I run in is pretty flat. We have mountains all around us but the streets I have done my training on were mostly flat. After driving the course I was terrified that I wasn’t prepared. My main goal for this race was to do the entire thing without walking and I was worried these hills were going to be too hard to run!

As you can see by this elevation map during first half of the run we would climb 485 feet! The only consolation I had at this point was the course was beautiful and I was excited to enjoy the scenery.

After our unsettling drive we met some friends for an early dinner at Macaroni Grill.

The Druce’s lived next door to us in Logan until they moved to Draper a few months ago. We hadn’t seen each other since June so it was really nice to catch up! I am so mad I forgot to get a picture that night. This is the only picture I could find of us and it is a year old!

I LOVE the bread at Macaroni Grill and I most likely at an entire loaf myself.

Kelly and I shared a create your own pasta with farfalle, chicken and sun dried tomatoes. It was delicious but I was pretty full from bread so I only had a few bites.

After we said goodbye to our great friends, we headed home and attempted to get the boys to sleep. It took a while but they did eventually fall asleep, as did I. I was really hoping to get a solid sleep and be rested for the race but I nightmares all night long. I dreamt that I woke up late and missed the race. I also dreamt that I tripped a mile into the race and broke my ankle. Needless to say I had a pretty restless night but I was up at 5:30 Saturday morning and was feeling anything but tired! Excited, nervous, anxious, pumped, and strong. Despite my major anxiety about the hills I knew I had prepared for this race and I was ready to RUN!

About Me

I am a running, circuit training, yoga doing, balanced eater who strives for overall health and wellness. Berries make it into at LEAST one of my meals everyday and barbells are my favorite piece of workout equipment, along with my running shoes!